Baked Lemon Chicken Breast

Ingredients:
1/4 cup good olive oil 
3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves) 
1/3 cup dry white wine 
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons) 
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
1½ teaspoons dried oregano 
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each) 
1 lemon 

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 X 12-inch baking dish. 

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices. 

Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1-2 cups shredded red cabbage, depending on how much crunch you like
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup diced green onions
• ½ cup cashew halves or peanuts (honey-roasted is good)
• Optional: 1 cup edamame or chickpeas
• Fresh lime, for a bit of tang
• For the dressing:
• ¼ cup all natural peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten-free if desired
• 1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Water to thin, if necessary

Instructions:

1. To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
2. To make dressing: Add peanut butter and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.
3. Add as much or as little dressing as you’d like to the quinoa. I always start out with a little bit of dressing and usually add more to suit my taste preferences. Alternatively you can save the dressing for later and add when you are ready to eat; however the flavors of the dressing usually soak into the salad so I love adding it to the quinoa first.
4. Next fold in red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.